Security email is key to securing business in the modern digital world, regardless of your company’s size. And with email remaining a top threat vector, it’s crucial that it be adequately protected. Mimecast vs Proofpoint: Email Security Platforms in Comparison. Mimecast and Proofpoint are two big players in the email security platform game. They both have good solutions, but they each also have different features, security functionality, and pricing.

In this post, we’re going to compare Mimecast and Proofpoint by looking at features, security capabilities, and costs, which will empower businesses to make a sound decision on what solution they believe is fit to secure their email.

Introduction to Email Security Platforms

Email security gateway solutions act as a filter between an organization’s email infrastructure and the rest of the world. Their main objective is to identify and block all forms of malicious threats, including phishing, malware, spam, impersonation attacks, etc., from entering users’ inboxes. These solutions can defend against both inbound and outbound email threats that would otherwise lead to data loss and exposure of sensitive information. In an age when email threats are constantly changing, organizations need to consider not only security solutions that block malicious content but also provide broad protection, such as advanced threat detection and ease of integration with existing information technology (IT) systems.

Mimecast and Proofpoint are two of the most popular email security solutions. All have their place in the cybersecurity market, but by understanding what makes them unique, businesses can ensure they’ve chosen the right product.

Features Comparison: Mimecast vs. Proofpoint

Mimecast Features

Mimecast’s email security platform is known for its user-friendly interface and robust threat protection capabilities. Its features are designed to provide holistic protection against a wide range of email-borne threats. Key features of Mimecast include:

ATP: Mimecast leverages sandboxing, machine learning, and live-time threat intelligence in order to employ detection and remediation of complex threats. It stymies ransomware, impersonation attacks, and phishing by inspecting the content of email messages and attachments for signs of malicious activity.

Email Continuity: During an outage of the email provider, Mimecast continues to send and receive email, thus ensuring employees don’t miss anything.

Data Leak Prevention (DLP): DLP capabilities from Mimecast help in preventing sensitive information from leaving your organisation. It scans emails on the way out of your mail server for potential secret data – PII, financials, or trade secrets.

Archiving: Mimecast’s cloud-based email archiving system provides secure storage and indexing of all email communications in order to meet compliance and e-discovery requirements. This feature also aids in email recovery if emails are accidentally deleted or the system crashes.

Phishing Protection: Mimecast leverages AI and machine learning for the detection of phishing, even very well-polished or targeted attempts. It also features user training options to help staff understand what spam and phishing email looks like.

Proofpoint Features

Proofpoint’s email security solution offers advanced and granular control, as well as deep threat detection. It is very full-featured and tackles many of the issues in email security. Key features of Proofpoint include:

Email Filtering: Proofpoint is one of the most accurate filters for spam, malware, and phishing emails. It employs a layered methodology that includes reputation-based filtering, machine learning, and content analysis to stop threats before they get to users’ mailboxes.

Impersonation Protection: Proofpoint has the industry’s leading advanced impersonation protection, protecting organizations worldwide from business email compromise (BEC) and CEO fraud. This functionality leverages machine learning to examine your email patterns and look for impersonations of trusted senders.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Proofpoint’s DLP capabilities help organizations prevent sensitive information from leaking outside of the company through email. It reads outgoing email for adherence to corporate policy and regulatory standards.

Preferred Encryption: Proofpoint has advanced email encryption options to protect your sensitive email communications during transmission. This is particularly important for sectors with highly sensitive data, like healthcare and finance.

Security Awareness Training: Proofpoint offers a package of resources to help employees learn the best ways to defend against cyberthieves. These solutions consist of simulated phishing campaigns, training modules, and reporting features to monitor user activity.

Threat Intelligence: Proofpoint’s threat intelligence framework combines worldwide information and machine learning to help recognize new threats as they emerge. This method allows improved threat detection accuracy, continuing from the prior art.

Security Capabilities: Mimecast vs. Proofpoint

While Mimecast provides enterprise-grade protection that is specifically designed to protect you from even the most sophisticated email attacks, Proofpoint was also built with security in mind. But there are some important areas where their security approaches diverge.

Mimecast Security Capabilities

Well recognized for its extensive security capabilities, Mimecast offers protection from threats at the perimeter before they get to the end user. Mimecast’s strategy to secure it involves a lot of AI and machine learning, which helps recognize emerging threats. Its ATP (advanced threat protection) platform is said to include dynamic sandboxing in a secure environment for attachment analysis before delivery. What’s more, Mimecast is strong in phishing detection with machine learning algorithms that can detect even the most advanced of phishing attacks.

“The security layer of the Mimecast solution also fits well with other security tools, creating a streamlined user experience. It provides robust defenses against ransomware, b.e.c (business email compromise), and impersonation attacks.

 Mimecast Comply with the data protection Regulations integrated in your Email service. The security company’s email security system has advanced tools to let customers comply with escalating regulations by scanning outbound emails for sensitive content (such as patient status notes, customer details, or billing and transaction data) flowing from our organisation.

Proofpoint Security Capabilities

Proofpoint, meanwhile, is best known for its threat intelligence and email filtering services. Proofpoint’s highly advanced filtering is capable of detecting and blocking a large spectrum of threats from simple spam to more complex malware and phishing attempts. One scanning tool that really stands out is Proofpoint’s impersonation protection, which utilizes machine learning to track and intercept business email compromise (BEC) attacks and impostor emails.

Proofpoint’s secure email encryption means your confidential information stays private during transmission, which is important for businesses with extreme privacy requirements. Proofpoint security awareness training also helps organizations improve susceptibility to successful phishing by educating users via end-user awareness training solutions on how to avoid attacks and exposing them to real-world attack scenarios.

In general, Mimecast and Proofpoint are both capable across the board from a security standpoint, but Proofpoint’s comprehensive approach to threat intelligence and impersonation protection might be better for organizations that have heightened concerns around targeted attacks.

Cost Considerations: Mimecast vs. Proofpoint

Cost is always a consideration, especially for SMEs, when it comes to the selection of an email security platform. Mimecast vs. Proofpoint. Both have pricing that is based on whatever you need it to be, but they take very different approaches to cost.

Mimecast Pricing

Pricing Mimecast’s pricing varies based on organization size and desired features. The company offers a range of packages, from those tailored for small businesses to mid-market and high-end models.  Mimecast is a subscription-based service, and the costs can grow as an organization grows. Mimecast pricing. Mimecast offers competitive pricing overall, though some users may feel that higher-tier packages include particular advanced features, including archiving and DLP in the price, while others are available as optional extras. But there’s a lot on offer for them in its standard plans, too—and Agari becomes even more compelling if you’re an organization that needs all of the security bells and whistles for your money.

Proofpoint Pricing

Proofpoint is generally priced at the higher end of the spectrum vs Mimecast. The platform’s granular controls, advanced threat protection, and impersonation detection (for example) don’t come free. Proofpoint’s usual targets are larger businesses or enterprises — and pricing is customized based on scale/use case. As the premium pricing may be too high for some small businesses, Proofpoint pricing is a testament that it’s focused on delivering top-notch quality to companies with more elaborate security needs.

Conclusion: Mimecast vs. Proofpoint

Mimecast vs Proofpoint: Which Is the Best Email Security Platform? Both Mimecast and Proofpoint are great email security platforms, but there are a few sharp differences between these two platforms, and we base our choice on your organization’s needs. Mimecast has a comprehensive solution with robust email security, such as advanced threat protection, DT (phishing detection), and data leak prevention. It is an excellent option for businesses in need of a budget-friendly, intuitive solution that contains most of the functionality they require.

Proofpoint. Interestingly, Proofpoint is unique in that it offers deep advanced threat intelligence and impersonation protection as well as email encryption. Its advanced filtering and enterprise options also suggest it’s a better choice for larger businesses or those with specific requirements around compliance and data security.

Ultimately, the best email security platform for you will depend on your organization’s size, your security needs, and your budget. Mimecast and Proofpoint are both robust email security tools that can help you defend your email systems, but to choose between them, it is important to consider their feature sets, strengths in security, and pricing structures.